Pats to tackle Texans in AFC playoffs

Sunday

Jan 13, 2013 at 6:00 AMJan 13, 2013 at 2:42 PM

Admit it. You were worried — maybe not in a full-out panic — but concerned when the Patriots started the 2012 season 1-2 and were a very un-Patriotic 3-3 through six games. True, the three defeats were by a grand total of four points, but the Patriots were having trouble closing out opponents in the fourth quarter, the secondary was in shambles and where the heck was Wes Welker?

By Jennifer Toland TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Admit it.

You were worried — maybe not in a full-out panic — but concerned when the Patriots started the 2012 season 1-2 and were a very un-Patriotic 3-3 through six games.

True, the three defeats were by a grand total of four points, but the Patriots were having trouble closing out opponents in the fourth quarter, the secondary was in shambles and where the heck was Wes Welker?

As usual, quarterback Tom Brady calmed all fears, the acquisition of cornerback Aqib Talib helped stabilize the defensive backfield and Welker had more than 1,000 receiving yards for the fifth time in his career.

The Patriots won 12 regular-season games, earned a first-round playoff bye and are two playoff wins away from getting back to the Super Bowl for the second straight season and sixth time under coach Bill Belichick.

New England is ready for today's AFC divisional round game against the Texans at Gillette Stadium.

“It's as exciting as there is,” said Brady, who will play in his Patriots record 23rd postseason game. “This is why we work hard. This is why we put the time in, so we can be at our best.”

Last month's crazy, 41-34 loss to the 49ers is the Patriots' only setback since mid-October. They had a pair of less-than-inspiring late-season performances at Miami and Jacksonville, but they're still considered by many the best team in the conference despite their No. 2 postseason seeding. The Patriots ranked first in the league in total offense and points per game.

“We got the No. 2 seed because that's what we deserved,” wide receiver Deion Branch said. “We put ourselves in that position. We went out and didn't take care of business on our own, so we had to depend on someone else. I think most of all, there's nothing we can do to control that part. We can just go out and play, and the position we're at with the seeding, it is what it is.”

Others think the Patriots got pretty lucky drawing the Texans, a team the Pats manhandled, 42-14, when Houston visited Gillette Stadium on Dec. 10. The loss sent the AFC South champs into an end-of-season spiral. The Texans lost three of their last four games and their grip on the AFC's top seed.

Houston bounced back with a solid defensive effort in last weekend's 19-13 wild-card win over the Bengals.

The Patriots expect a better effort from the Texans today than they got five weeks ago.

“They're going to be ready to go,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said. “It's the playoffs. We know they're preparing for us. They'll be ready to go and they'll be better than the last game.”

Brady, who has 16 playoff victories, needs one more to surpass his boyhood idol, Joe Montana, and become the all-time winningest quarterback in the postseason.

In the Gillette Stadium parking lots, there are remnants of the Dec. 29 snowstorm that left a foot of snow in the towns along Route 1, but those piles should be mostly melted by this afternoon. No, the weather won't make today's game feel like a vintage Patriots playoff encounter. Kickoff temperature is supposed to be close to 60 degrees, nothing like the Pats' subzero AFC divisional victory over the Titans seven years ago or the unforgettable “Snow Bowl” in the 2001 season.

Somehow, Patriots playoff talk always comes back to that magical night of Jan. 19, 2002. It was when this terrific chapter in Patriots history took off, and it was Brady's first playoff game. Two weeks later, he led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl championship with a shocking win over the Rams at the Superdome in New Orleans, which, by the way, is the site of this year's Super Bowl XLVII.

“That was some kid back then,” said Brady, now 35, and 0-2 in his last two Super Bowl appearances. “You really don't quite understand what has happened or what has been accomplished until you try so many times and you don't get to accomplish those things. It's very hard to win that final game of the year. We've had a chance and lost a few. It's hard to win this game. The margin for error is less. You make one mistake, and you're going to be watching next weekend. You spend extra time talking about every little detail of every little play. We've got to be at our best.”